Funny how one person's "upscale" is another's "sleaze." This explains the proprietors of the new Gold Club "bikini bar" in downtown San Jose describing their night spot as an "upscale club" when their opening night entertainment is a porn star.

We're not exactly fans of the Gold Club, "upscale" name notwithstanding -- particularly on West Santa Clara Street near San Pedro Square, an increasingly family friendly area with a residential high-rise under construction across the street. Pictures of that porn star adorn the Gold Club's windows, proclaiming its "upscale" dignity. Imagine walking past it with the kids on the way to get a pizza in the San Pedro Square Market.

Pedestrians walk by a building of San Jose's newest gentlemen's club, The Gold Club, in downtown San Jose on July 26, 2013.
(Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)

Chamber of Commerce President Matthew Mahood, a free-enterprise kind of guy, is no fan, either: "People in the area want to make downtown San Jose a quality experience." (As opposed to "upscale.")

So, we're pleased to see downtown Councilman Sam Liccardo proposing regulations for this kind of club, which is new to San Jose and is sure to attract crime. Liccardo wants to ensure the neighborhood is safe, club workers are protected and the already strained police department is not overburdened.

A former sex crimes prosecutor, Liccardo cites research from the University of Louisville showing increases in robbery, assault and theft around strip clubs. One key factor: Customers and workers carry lots of cash because of tipping for particularly "upscale" performances. Business owners nearby also worry about prostitution, and so will prospective high-rise residents.

Liccardo's central proposal is a fee to pay for an increased police presence. He wants the city to explore additional regulations, such as barring performers and patrons from touching, requiring the tabletop dancers to undergo age checks, setting a midnight closing time and limiting the kinds of advertising the club can do, particularly in forums visible to children. Cities can't just ban clubs like this because of free speech issues, but many communities have reasonable restrictions like these.

The Gold Club may well be a gold mine for its owners, given the hordes of mostly male tech workers who'll come to the newly expanded Convention Center. But it doesn't line up with the values of residents of San Jose and other Silicon Valley communities.

Gold Club spokesman George Mull made the point best when he told the Mercury News the bar with nearly nude women dancing on the tables would be "a perfect place to entertain business associates."